How much does an AI commercial cost in 2026?

An AI commercial costs between roughly €2.500 and €15.000 at a studio that directs the work, and from a few hundred euros at a template service. At a mad office, projects start at €3.500, excluding VAT, with a fixed quote before we start. The price follows the number of films and variants, their length, how precisely the product must be right in every frame, the markets and the timeline. It does not follow the hours a tool runs.

That difference, direction versus generation, explains most of the spread in the market. This post walks through it so you can read any quote you receive, including ours.

What sets the price of an AI commercial?

Six things move the number:

1. The number of films and the variants of each one. One hero film costs more than the second format of the same film, because the second one reuses the concept, the characters and the grade.
2. Length and dialogue. Thirty seconds of product footage is a different job from ninety seconds with a speaking character who has to stay the same person throughout.
3. How precisely the product must be right. A sneaker, a bottle or a car that has to be identical in forty shots needs a 3D model or a product rig underneath the AI. That control is the most time-consuming part of the work, and the part that separates a campaign from a demo.
4. Languages and markets. Every market adds versions, text, voice and sometimes different casting.
5. The timeline. Fast is possible; fast and perfect costs more rounds in parallel.
6. Feedback rounds. Two are included in our quotes. More rounds are fine; they are simply priced.

Concept and art direction, two feedback rounds, masters in the agreed formats and documented usage rights are always in our quote. That last point matters more than it sounds: who may use the film, where and for how long, is written down before anything is generated.

What does the market charge in 2026?

In October 2026 we read the published rate cards and price guides of AI video studios in the Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom. They fall into three layers. The amounts are what those studios publish, converted loosely to euros, and they are starting points rather than quotes.

Layer	What you get	Typical price
Template and avatar	Stock scenes, a presenter generated from a template, little or no art direction	€500 to €1.500 per video
Directed AI production	Concept, art direction, a consistent cast and product, a grade, social cutdowns	€2.500 to €15.000 per asset or concept
Campaign and broadcast	Several markets, a hero film plus cutdowns, sound design, clearances	€8.000 to €30.000 and up per campaign

We work in the second and third layer. The first layer has its place: an internal update, a quick explainer, a test. It is not where a brand puts its campaign, and no amount of prompting turns a template into one.

A useful reference point for the top of the scale: in a case study published by Luma AI, the agency estimate for a conventional Mazda commercial in South Africa came to more than 1,2 million US dollars, and the AI version went from brief to final approval in under two weeks (Luma AI, case study). That is a tool vendor’s own story, so read it as an indication of the ratio, not as a price list.

Why is AI efficient, not cheap?

The crew, the models, make-up, locations and travel of a traditional shoot are not on the invoice of an AI commercial. That is where the budget moves: the same money buys more films, more variants and more markets.

What stays on the invoice is the craft. A lighting language that holds from shot to shot. A grade. A cast that looks like the same people in every frame. A product that is the right product, not a close cousin. Sound. That is studio work, and it is paid as studio work, which is why a directed AI commercial does not cost a few hundred euros and should not.

For most briefs this puts an AI commercial well below a comparable shoot, at a finish that reads as production work. Where the brief needs real faces, real streets and real light, we say so in the quote, because then film is the better buy, and often film with AI and 3D on top of it.

How to read a quote for an AI commercial

Three checks tell you what you are actually buying:

• Is there a concept and an art director? If the quote lists a tool and a number of seconds, you are buying generation, not a commercial.
• How is the product kept consistent? Ask what keeps it identical across shots. For products that have to be exact, the honest answer involves a 3D model or a product rig.
• What rights come with it? Usage rights, music and the right to re-edit should be written down. If they are not, ask.

If a quote passes those three, compare prices. If it does not, the price is not comparable.

What this means for your budget

Start with what the campaign has to do: how many films, which formats, which markets, by when. Send us that and a rough budget, and we come back with a plan and a fixed quote. Projects start at €3.500, and the quote only changes if the scope changes.